Sunday, February 15, 2009

I really hate the northern Indiana winters. I have to admit this one is going by pretty fast though. I think it is because I have developed a new strategy; sleep. That's right, every opportunity I get, I just sleep. My theory is, that I will wake up and it will be spring. At least I am really not missing anything to speak of. I am getting fatter, but by golly when spring is really truly officially here, I will get on my bicycle and work it all off.

And the whole Punksatonny (intentionally misspelled) Phil thing is retarded. Who thought that whole thing up? We have the latest meteorological technology, and we rely on a rodent to give us the scoop? I don't get it anyway, if he sees his shadow, then we have 6 more weeks of winter? That would have meant the sun was out, right? Anyhow, I need to think of some stupid tradition like that, never mind, it wouldn't stick.

Being the eternal optimistic (can you tell?), I have seen the signs, and spring IS here regardless what the rat says. Here are the 7 signs spring is here already.

1. I saw a flock of high altitude geese. Yeah, they were flying kind of southeast, but I assume they must have just arrived at their destination. They surely couldn't be leaving, right?

2. Jimmie-Mac at work claims he saw a Robin. That is good enough for me.

3. A lady my wife knows saw a cutworm crawling across the road. I would not be able to recognize a cutworm, but I assume that if this lady can identify a cutworm, she must be an authority and I trust her completely.

4. It got up to like 62 degrees several days ago with an inch of hard rain. The Pineapple Express blew the warm weather here from the south. It melted all the snow.

5. 4311 heating degree days so far this year. That is some complicated formula that has to do with the temperature. I don't have a clue how it works, but according to THIS, the average for now is 4169, so we are 152 ahead. That has to mean something.

6. I saw a Mallard. One of those ring-necked green-headed full fledged duck! I looked it up on the internet to get their migratory patterns and all I got was this sob story about how SOME of them migrate and if you see one in February in Indiana, it is probably on it's way somewhere else. All I know is I haven't seen this guy around, and that is good enough for me.

7. Our daffodils poked their head out of the ground already. The ones nearest the house are over an inch tall. They have been around for thousands of years. Who am I to argue with them?